Health Benefits of Cycling to Work – How it Improves Employee Productivity
Cycling to work has enjoyed a skyrocketing popularity because of its manifold of benefits that include health improvement. It is also the only means of transport to work that doesn’t contribute to congestion and pollution, saves time and represents the cheapest means of transport. According to a recent research, it has emerged that over half a million of people have put into good use the cycle to work scheme given that it is tax efficient and bikes have been heavily discounted.
It is quite interesting to note that cycling to work has a direct impact on the productivity and engagement of the participating employees because it encourages a healthy workforce. The following are health benefits of cycling to work and how it contributes to improvement of employee productivity.
Reduces mental and physical stress
Stress can affect your concentration at workplace and hence affecting your productivity in the long term. Fortunately, cycling to work can offer a considerable relaxing effect because its uniform cyclic movement stabilizes emotional and physical functions of your body. Cycling can also help in correcting hormonal imbalance, the leading cause of mental (emotional) stress.
Cycling help build strength and muscle tone
Human beings have numerous muscle tissues which must be engaged in a physical activity on a regular basis to maintain fitness and health. However, majority of people have always believed that riding a bike is a fitness activity that is focused solely on building and toning leg muscles. Actually, research has revealed that cycling builds muscle strength in a holistic manner. For instance, during cycling to work, majority of large muscle groups including abdominal muscles, back muscles and shoulder muscles are activated and hence they are made strong and efficient.
Cycling boosts heart and cardiovascular health
The heart is one of the most important organs in your body that’s responsible for a healthy life but can be greatly damaged by inactivity. Cycling a bike to work can make your heart pound in a steady manner and hence boosts your cardiovascular fitness by up to 10 percent. Also, it help reduce the likelihood of heart diseases like heart attack by about 55 percent.
Cycling to work is a good way to build stamina
Unlike in other endurance workouts or sports, riding a bike is the best form of aerobic exercise as it exerts less strain to your muscles. It is therefore the most effective way of building stamina because it reduces your sense of fatigue and tiredness and thus improves stamina.
Help fight against spinal diseases and back pain
Riding a bike to your workplace not only stimulates your leg muscles but also the lower back and the muscles of the vertebrae where slipped spine discs have high likelihood of occurring. This means that the spine is strengthened to withstand external stressors that cause back pain and other problems like diseases.
Generally, cycling is widely known to be the best way for people to achieve good health and fitness. By extension, addressing health related issues at the workplace is a route to successful improvement of employee productivity. More so, people who cycle regularly can live longer than those who don’t and thus increases your longevity. Purchasing a bike has been made easier with the emergence of online stores that can enable you buy bikes online at discounted prices as a way of promoting cycling to work campaign.
Author Bio:
Annie Dodson is a HR manager and blogger with experience in Outsourcing and Online Recruitment. Currently, she is contributing to the marketing department at Reid Cycles.